Jack Charles is an Aboriginal elder, actor and activist, who has come from a life of hardship – not that unusual for an Indigenous man of his generation – but used his hardship to become one of Australia’s most dynamic performers.
Taken from his parents at two years old, Jack was placed in a boys home in Melbourne, where he suffered years of punishment and humiliation, including sexual abuse, by those who were supposed to care for him.
As per policy, he left the institution at age 14, and was placed in a foster home. Here he found some semblance of family life, even though he knew nothing of his own family. When he began to look for his family, he was deemed to have broken the assimilation policy, and was sent to prison, his first of many visits. Unsurprisingly, he later fell into heroin addiction and the robbery necessary to feed his habit.
Despite his lifestyle, Jack was a long-time member of New Theatre, with many performances to his credit. In 1972, along with Bob Maza, they started Australia’s first Indigenous theatre company, Nindethana, and had great success with a play devised and acted by Jack. He has appeared in several movies: The Chant Of Jimmy Blacksmith, Blackfellas, Bedevil, Tom White, Pan, and recently in the ABC`s Cleverman.
In 2010, a documentary of Jacks life, Barstardy, was screened on ABC television. It was filmed over seven years, and was a warts-and-all expose of Jack’s life. Upon seeing it, he was determined to get clean and began a successful process of rehabilitation.
Jack has mellowed into his seventies, still working, healthy, and wanting to help fellow aboriginals caught up in the prison and drug cycle, an area he feels he is uniquely qualified. Ironically, because of his previous convictions, he is barred from entering prisons. Jack is a charismatic and genial man, passionate about real solutions for his people.